Uni degrees: who needs 'em?

Uni degrees: who needs 'em?
May 14, 2010

A lot of fellows nowadays have a B.A., M.D., or Ph.D. Unfortunately, they don't have a J.O.B." So said American singer-songwriter, Fats Domino. He had a point. Putting aside professions such as medicine and law where a degree is essential, much of what is taught at university today isn't useful in the workplace.

A British survey conducted in March by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development revealed 60 per cent of graduates are working in a field unrelated to the degree they studied. And roughly one-in-four said their degree didn't equip them with the skills they needed to thrive at work. The results in Australia would probably be similar, with thousands of people thinking the completion of a degree is the finish line, when in reality it only entitles them to stand at the starting blocks. The real work starts at work.

The most talented senior manager I've ever had was a lady who hadn't spent a day on a university campus. The most hopelessly incompetent executives were those who'd completed not only a degree but also an MBA.

This doesn't imply a degree leads to poor performance. Rather, it just doesn't guarantee success. Not all masterful trainers have a degree in Adult Education. Many of the finest journalists don't have a degree in Communication. And some of the best musicians haven't studied at the Conservatorium.

People will argue the value lies not necessarily in the curriculum but with what a person becomes as a result of completing the degree. It'll prove they can solve problems! It'll show they can work under pressure! It'll demonstrate they can organise and prioritise! All of that may be true (or not), but those same attributes can be gleaned from other areas, such as the candidates' work experience, the adversities they've overcome, and their character in general.

I asked Shayne Herriott, the president of the National Association of Australian University Colleges, for his thoughts. "Obtaining a university degree is a lot more than what is learnt within a classroom or lecture theatre," he said. "A university degree is a series of challenges testing our ability to learn new and challenging subjects in a new environment surrounded by many distractions that are greatly different from school."

Admittedly, I'm a uni drop out. I had one year left of a Business degree when I realised it was no longer beneficial. I started it when I was in the corporate world. Eager to progress up the career ladder, I was very aware of the preference decision-makers had for resumes that contained a pithy reference to the applicant's degree. Despite being a student with a distinction average, I didn't learn a thing I could apply at work. Instead, I was forced to remember a bunch of management theories developed in the 1970s, all of which I've since forgotten.

These days, many job advertisements list a degree as a prerequisite. Check out the graduate section of the MyCareer site and you'll find job vacancies for a Recruitment Assistant, a Junior Marketing Coordinator, and another in Media Sales. It's uncertain why the lack of a degree is such a deal-breaker for roles where all the learning would presumably be on the job. It seems a degree merely qualifies you for the interview. It gets you in the door. Actually being able to do the job is an altogether separate and unrelated matter.

Rising in prominence is the Mickey Mouse degree, which is a term that disparagingly refers to qualifications of little relevance in the working world. Golf management and surf science are two such obscure examples, as are more common ones such as English Literature and History. How many job vacancies do you see advertised for a historian? Currently on MyCareer: none.

And then there's the aspirational MBA. There was a time when it was regarded as a unique accomplishment. But currently it seems like every ambitious worker's got one, or is at least contemplating the endeavour. A few years ago, I was recruiting for entry-level call centre positions and was floored by the flood of resumes from MBA graduates. It used to guarantee you a job in middle management. Now it guarantees you a period of muddle management.

People who undertake a degree should be applauded. It's a huge commitment, and the intention here isn't to denigrate their achievement. It's more a reflection on the perception of degrees and their supposed relevance in the workplace. Are they really supporting business? I don't think so. Not to a large degree.

http://blogs.theage.com.au/small-business/workinprogress/2010/05/14/unidegreeswho.html